What are the understandings of dyslexia among primary school teachers in Ireland

Ó Cadhla, Darragh (2023) What are the understandings of dyslexia among primary school teachers in Ireland. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Preview

PDF (Bachelor of Arts) Download (930kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: Dyslexia is a learning disability of neurological origin that results in difficulties with recognizing words accurately and/or fluently, poor decoding and spelling abilities, and affects a range of 5% to 20% of students (Bishop & Snowling, 2004; Snowling & Melby-Lervåg, 2016). Effective education of students with dyslexia depends significantly on the pedagogical knowledge of their teachers. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate any differences there may be in knowledge of dyslexia between groups of schools, them being Irish-medium schools, English schools, and DEIS schools. The study also wanted to investigate if teachers in Ireland receive specific training on dyslexia, if years of teaching experience correlates with knowledge of dyslexia, and lastly, if teachers feel they have sufficient resources to accommodate children with dyslexia in their school. Method: An online questionnaire was developed, consisting of two different sections. The first of the sections was to gather demographic and background information on the participants. The second section consisted of the ‘Knowledge and beliefs about developmental dyslexia scale’(KBDDS), a 37-item scale that was developed to measure participants knowledge of dyslexia. A total of 40 primary school teachers participated in the study with ages ranging from 22-56 (77.5% female). Results: The results indicated a suboptimal knowledge of dyslexia among primary school teachers in Ireland, however there was no significant difference depending on the school that you taught in or if you had received specific training or not. There was also no correlation between the number of years teaching experience you had and scores on the KBDDS scale. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with previous research that teachers lack some of the essential knowledge regarding dyslexia. Some of the strengths and limitations of the research are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Supervisors:	Name Email Nolan, Conor UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > Learning disabilities L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > Teaching Personnel > Primary School Teachers
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Tamara Malone
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2023 15:03
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2023 15:03
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/6713

Actions (login required)

View Item